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Steno Question No. 8

A great man leaves clean work behind him, and requires no sweeper up of the chips.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

THE SITUATION: You feel like you have hit a brick wall.

THE QUESTION: How do you begin to move forward again?

THE SOLUTION:

I have great news for you. You haven't hit a brick wall. You have hit an invisible wall that is made out of absolutely nothing. Darn thing still stops you in your tracks though, doesn't it? What is happening is that your stress level has built to such a degree that it is interfering with your mental processes. It is the same thing that happens when people are in an accident or a dangerous situation. You do need to have your nerves alert you when a bad situation happens, such as when you are falling behind on the test or when you start to write sloppy. But too much of this kind of good thing is definitely a very bad thing. Breathe deep and slow before the test. Forget about the breathing once the test starts. Reduce your caffeine if you can. Remind yourself that you haven't died yet because of a test; therefore, it ain't as serious as you are making it out to be. Realize that every one of your teachers suffered from those same test nerves. Realize that stenography does not require a high amount of talent. It merely requires that you learn your lessons well. And realize that you have already trained yourself beyond the 180 level. If you have the test nerves that you speak of, then they are truly interfering with your progress. Remove the test nerves, and you will discover that you are faster than you had thought. You are probably either ready to pass 200 tests or close to passing 225s. Ask your teacher if you can do some StairStepper drills. These are amazing for confidence because they prove that you already have more speed than you need. StairSteppers are done like this. Most teachers use timing marks that occur every twenty words. Have your teacher dictate up to the first mark at 120, the second at 140, the third at 160, the fourth at 180, the fifth at 200, the sixth at 220, the seventh at 240. If this is confusing to your teacher, here is a simpler way to do it. Have your teacher dictate up to the first mark at 120. Have her dictate up to the second mark one second faster. The third, one second faster. Et cetera. So if there is 20 words up to the first mark, then the first group is dictated in 10 seconds. The second group in nine. The third in 8. That would mean the teacher can use these timing marks: 10, 19, 27, 34, 40, 45, 49.5. It gets up to high speed very quickly. You will find that you can do this drill at a much higher speed than is necessary. And if you can do it at a very high speed, you shouldn't have any trouble with a dumb ol' 180 test. By the way, you did analyze your problem very well. Most students have a lot of trouble in that area, and it is a skill that they need. You told me that the nerves disappear as soon as the test is blown. You told me that you write well as soon as the nerves disappear. Your answer is clear: nerves. Not speed, not clarity, not more practice, not more drilling, etc. You can't get rid of nerves. You wouldn't want to do that even if you could. What you want to do is learn to keep them in check. So don't try to dismiss them. Try to get them to cooperate with you. Nerves are funny people. They don't mean any harm, but they often jump in when they are not needed. In a nutshell, chill out. You have the skills, and you are the only obstacle in your way. Joe Kinaim Chief Kook and Boggle Watcher

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